Many diagnostic medical ultrasound imaging systems are carried on a cart that has room for several on-cart peripherals. For example, an ultrasound cart often carries a printer or video-tape recorder for generating a hard copy of an ultrasound image. The convenience of having on-cart access to peripherals comes at the price of adding weight to the ultrasound cart, thereby making the ultrasound system less portable. To increase portability, some or all of the peripherals can be moved off the ultrasound cart and placed into a host network, which can also provide the ultrasound system with access to equipment not commonly found on the cart. To provide access to network-based peripherals, an ultrasound system typically has a wire connection, such as an RS-232 or 10baseT Ethernet connection, to a network or modem wall jack. In operation, if a user wishes to move the ultrasound system to another location, he unplugs the wire connection from the network jack, wheels the ultrasound system cart to the new location, and plugs the wire connection into the network jack of the new location.
There are several disadvantages associated with this implementation. First, in order to support the network connection, the network wall outlet must be near the ultrasound work area. This limits the portability of the ultrasound system. Second, users sometimes begin an ultrasound examination before remembering to plug the wire connection into the network jack of the new location. These users may need to interrupt an examination in progress to make the network connection. Third, this implementation presents several safety concerns. For example, if there is an electrical short from a network line to a high-voltage source (power lines, power transformers, lightening, etc.), the patient can be injured, especially during an intra-cavity ultrasound examination.
There is, therefore, a need for an improved diagnostic medical ultrasound system to overcome the problems described above.